Day 21 – July 24th. Brandybottle. What a bottler!

Sticking to the guidelines of trip distance per day, Linda found a site called Brandybottle which had excellent reviews about the park and the food served there. It was just off the highway with nothing else around, but again, for an overnight rest stop, that doesn’t matter too much. We could only get an unpowered site, but everything else was right for us, so we booked in hoping for the best.

We were also hoping for the best with internet / phone reception as it was to be a special night regardless. Before we left, our youngest son Alex had let us know that he was going to propose to his long term girlfriend on this night. He had told us as he wanted to do a family celebration soon after and we had organised flights back to Melbourne from Cairns the following weekend on the expectation that Tess was going to say yes. Hence our second locked in date if you have been following along from the start.

It was quite the thing to be talking to Alex and Tess, Joel and Nikita, Tess’s parents Carolyn and Rowan and Tess’s brother Dan on a facebook group call, in the middle of Queensland, in the dark, on a golf fairway away from the dining area. Exciting times for them, for us, for Tess’s family and the announcement will be marked forever in all of our memories.

Brandybottle turns out to be a combined 9 hole golf course and camp ground, and we just parked alongside one of the fairways. It was $5 a day to have a game and rent some clubs and we arrived on a day where there was a group of 38 doing a yearly get together where they played golf, played games, sang and drank a lot. A great crowd. We had dinner there and by the end of the night we were dancing along to the guitarist with them and having a great chat.

Apparently the group had mainly met at a rock and roll club years ago, and had brought their own singer. They were line-dancing like crazy, singing along to the songs. “Alice” and “Am I ever going to see you face again” like they were 15 year olds at a Blue Light disco. Everyone was so into it, that when the musician suggested that “Let’s see how strong these tables are” I thought that this group of seniors were about to do some dancing I wasn’t quite ready for, but they banged the tables in time to “I would walk 500 miles” like the bulldog cheersquad smashing the hoardings at the 2016 grand final.

This is just one of the more surprising places along the way. As a boutique camping site, this was cracker.

Brandybottle Google review

While there were no bottles of Brandy on display, there were ample beers, wines and other spirits in the bar to keep all revellers happy. This boutique campsite combined with a 9 hole golf course was a great place to settle in, relax, and have a great time. The food was great and the staff even better. If you are looking for somewhere to go with the kids, have ample showers and toilets, and be entertained by jumping pillows and slides, this is not your place. If you like a fun game of whack a ball, like a beer and a feed and a chat in a very relaxed setting, this is definitely your place. 5 stars.